espite a marked global population
shift toward urban areas, many cities
have actually seen a decrease in transit
ridership. Public transit will remain
essential for moving people effi ciently
in our cities, and its importance will
only increase with the population infl
ux. To keep up with emerging mobility
options and increase ridership, cities must
embrace innovative solutions that will provide
similar customer experiences and ease of use.
Innovative digital services, such as journey
planners, mobile ticketing, bike schemes,
parking and ride hailing apps, are available,
however, when agencies look to integrate
these, funded by diff erent departments and
provided by several service providers, they
are faced with a problem: How do they get
all these services behind a single interface
when no single technology provider can be
an expert in all areas for all diff ering needs?
A soft ware development kit (SDK) is one
solution that is changing how public transit
apps connect and vastly improve rider’s
experiences.
What is an SDK?
An SDK is a piece of code that allows a set of
functionalities from one service provider to be
embedded into a new or existing application
from another provider. By integrating via SDK,
transit services can be connected within one or
more central apps for a seamless and optimized
rider experience. Options for how and where you
choose to access services can also be increased.
Any centralized citizen support app can
choose to integrate a series of SDKs most
appropriate for that city or user group, with
apps designed for tourists or the disabled
having a diff erent user experience compared
to those for the commuter. It also enables
citizen support apps to include city-specifi c
parking, rideshare and transit ticketing links
for that area, without forcing the city to use a
monolithic non-specialist provider for all of
its underlying services.
Masabi deployed the fi rst mobile ticketing
SDK integration for transit this year in
France in partnership with Keolis, allowing
ticket purchasing, delivery, storage and usage
technology to be integrated directly into an
existing smart journey planning application.
Tickets can now be purchased and displayed in
a wide range of transit applications, integrating
services for a seamless rider experience.
It also enables choice for how riders access
transit. By integrating ticketing into other
apps via an SDK, you off er choice of access to
transit services through whatever application
is appropriate in a city ecosystem.
Other leading examples of SDKs in the
transit space include the ability to request
All Photos by Masabi
14 | Expo Daily | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | OCTOBER 10, 2017
an Uber directly from the
Google Maps app while
planning a trip, or hire a
bike via the Transit App.
What’s the common theme
among these examples?
A seamless and consolidated experience for
the user.
Benefits of SDK Integration
Creating a seamless user experience by connecting
applications that riders already use
with complementary transit services, is just
one of the benefi ts an SDK integration enables.
It also allows transit agencies and cities to incorporate
best solutions from other apps into
their current off ering, rather than needing to
develop proprietary soft ware.
Previously, when companies and cities were
looking to develop a single transit app with
multiple functionalities they were left with
the choice of either a provider who supplies
multiple services or a custom project that was
cost prohibitive and diffi cult to build, manage
and maintain. With SDKs, cities are able to
build a central app and integrate the services
from relevant expert service providers.
By integrating features like ticketing and
ride-hailing into other apps, you off er greater
choice by making it easier to access transit
services and providing more
accessibility will only help increase
usage and draw more
riders to use transit.
How Public Transit SDKs are
Creating Better
Passenger Journeys
With so many transportation services entering into the industry,
how can cities make the combination of digital services and
diff erent agencies blend together in a seamless fashion?
By Brian Zanghi D
APPS
SDKs are changing how
transit apps connect to
other apps.
SDK for a seamless passenger experience.
Brian Zanghi is president and CEO of
Masabi Ltd.
» Visit Masabi at booth 3333.
